Library News
Jacob Edwards Library
April 2022
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Library hours
Monday & Thursday 9 am - 8 pm
Tuesday, Wednesday, & Friday 9 am - 5 pm
Saturday 9 am - 1 pm
Curbside pickup is available during library hours!
Items may be returned only through the book drop at the rear of the building, due to challenges posed for safe materials handling.
No book donations can be accepted at this time.
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Meet Libby!
With your library card you can access
e-content without leaving your home!
Need help? Call 508-764-5426 x105 and one of our librarians can assist you!
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Knitting with Sonya
Tuesday mornings
10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Reading Room
All are welcome!
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Southbridge Chess Club
with instructor Ben Marinelli
Saturday mornings
9:30 - 11:30
All ages and skill levels welcome!
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April Art Show
Fine Lettered Poetry: Calligraphy by Stephanie Cyr
Reception
Thursday, April 7
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Humans have been expressing their thoughts with pen on writing material for over 4,600 years. The art of fine and beautiful handwriting became a distinct practice after the advent of printing in the mid-15th century, with the word calligraphy making its first appearance in the English language in 1613. This exhibition, displayed in celebration of National Poetry Month, is a collection of poems and writings by authors from biblical times to the 19th century, executed in a variety of calligraphic fonts. Produced by local artisan and librarian Stephanie Cyr, the selected pieces all have a significant personal meaning to her. Also included are several 19th-century examples of items that have been inscribed by their former owners, providing a glimpse into the value placed on books and other printed items during that time.
Stephanie Cyr (neé) Lewis was born and raised in Southbridge, MA. She came up through the Southbridge school system, and studied art under the tutelage of Donna Silverberg and Kathleen Sterzcala (formerly Simonelli). Through the support and mentorship of her art teachers, Stephanie was encouraged to delve into the craft of hand-lettering, and was soon producing awards for senior class members at Southbridge High School, wedding invitation stationery and gifts of calligraphed poetry within the following months. She has been creating hand-lettered items ever since.
The exposure to calligraphy, manuscripts and medieval art in high school inspired her to choose a profession centered around “the book.” She earned a B.A. in Art History from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 2003, and took a particular interest in Medieval art and architecture while studying there. A strong love of medieval illumination led to a graduate degree in Library and Information Science from Simmons College (now University) in Boston, MA in 2005. Stephanie was fortunate enough to have worked at the Rare Books and Manuscripts Department at the Boston Public Library, the Massachusetts Historical Society, Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center and the Library at the Worcester Art Museum, where she had the privilege of caring for rare materials of all kinds. She served as the Adult Services Librarian at the Jacob Edwards Library, in her hometown of Southbridge, MA from 2019-2021.
This exhibit is dedicated to the late Anne Marie (Wetherbee) Lewis, Stephanie’s beloved Mum, who was the recipient of the very first hand-lettered piece Stephanie ever gifted.
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Poetry Reading
Jasmin Rivas
Thursday, April 14
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Jasmin Rivas is a writer/poet living in Southbridge, Massachusetts. She is the mother of two young men, who inspire her to “be the change” she wants to see in the world. She is passionate about her work promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, an educator, community activist and yoga instructor.
She has been a featured poet at Listen-Live Poetry at Nick’s in Worcester and Artists For Puerto Rico at Starlite in Southbridge. She was published, along with other writers, in Bay Path University’s Multiplicity Magazine in 2020 for two collaborative poems. In 2012, she was awarded the Chapter 13’ Poet Society’s Elite 13’ Writers Award. Jasmin recently completed her MFA in Creative Writing and hopes to publish her memoir.
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Mark Mandeville and Raianne Richards
Thursday, April 21
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Southbridge Local Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards are a married musical couple based out of Webster, Massachusetts. These prolific and hard working Massachusetts-based artists have contributed over seventeen albums within their first decade and toured consistently throughout the US and Canada.
Their songs poetically reflect personal experiences as factory workers, teachers, community organizers, and natives of post-industrial mill towns in central Massachusetts. The memories of days gone by and toils of history can be better remembered through songs such as “That Old Machine” or “Winds of Change.” Listeners feel refreshed lyrics with references to elements in nature.
Mark & Raianne are famous among regional fans for their annual Massachusetts Walking Tour which defines them as true troubadours journeying with their instruments and humble voices, from stage to stage, town to town throughout the state on foot each June.
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Proof of Me: Author Talk with Erica Plouffe Lazure
Thursday, April 28
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
The library is pleased to host author and educator Erica Plouffe Lazure who will present her short story collection, Proof of Me. This collection was awarded the New American Press fiction prize and will be published in March 2022. She is the author of two flash fiction chapbooks Sugar Mountain (Ad Hoc Press, 2020) and Heard Around Town (Arcadia, 2015), and a fiction chapbook, Dry Dock (Red Bird, 2014).
Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing after the presentation.
Her fiction has appeared in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, the Greensboro Review, The MacGuffin, Carve Magazine, Phoebe, Meridian, Iron Horse Review, American Short Fiction, The Journal of Micro Literature, Fiction Southeast, Southeast Review, Smokelong Quarterly, Flash: the International Short-Short Story Magazine (UK), and elsewhere. She is a graduate of the Bennington Writing Seminars, East Carolina University’s MA in creative writing, and UMass-Amherst. When she isn’t writing flash fiction or teaching English, Erica enjoys cooking, drawing, playing guitar and singing, and plotting out her next adventure. She has taught English at East Carolina University, Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH, and at School Year Abroad in Viterbo, Italy. She can be found online at https://ericaplouffelazure.com/
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Stones by Kevin Young
"A book of elegy, loss, and what binds us to life, by a towering poetic talent. "We sleep long, / if not sound," Young writes early on in this exquisite gathering of poems, "Till the end/ we sing / into the wind." In scenes and settings that circle family and the generations in the American South--one poem, "Kith," exploring that strange bedfellow of "kin"--the speaker and his young son wander among the stones of their ancestors. "Like heat he seeks them, / my son, thirsting / to learn those / he don't know / are his dead." Whether it's the Louisiana summer's fireflies in a mason jar (doomed by their collection), or his grandmother, Mama Annie, who latches the screen door when someone steps out for just a moment, all that comprises our flickering precarious joy, all that we want to protect, is lifted into the light in this moving book. Stones becomes an ode to Young's home places and his dear departed, and to what of them--of us--poetry can save"--Provided by publisher.
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Either in the Library or at home, with Consumer Reports, you can search and browse product reviews, ratings, recommendations, videos, and much more from one of the most trusted resources for information and advice on consumer products.
The Jacob Edwards Library subscribes to multiple online databases which can help you with everything from schoolwork, finding up-to-date health information, to learning a new language, or preparing for your driving test. Check them out here!
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Welcome to the Children's Page
April 2022
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National Library Week Celebration
Saturday, April 2, 2022
10:30 am - 11:30 am
Storytime and Craft!
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Pumpernickel Puppets will be here on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 1:00 pm for a Puppet Show featuring "Peter Rabbit".
John McDonough and his puppets present over 250 shows a year at schools and libraries throughout the New England area.
This program is is sponsored by the Mass Cultural Council.
"The Southbridge Cultural Council is a local agency funded by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency".
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Oscar the Wonder Dog
Join us on Friday April 22, 2022 at 1:00 PM to welcome "Oscar" back to our library.
Oscar is an amazing rescue dog! He knows over 40 tricks and will astonish you with his antics!
Sponsored by The Olive I. and Anthony A. Borgatti Fund
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Celebrate El día de los niños/El día de los libros
Monday April 25, 2022
at 6:30pm
Guest reader Geraldo Maldonado the QCC Southbridge Site Leader will read to our children for a special storytime
El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day), commonly known as Día, is a celebration every day of children, families, and reading that culminates yearly on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
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Monday Night
STEAM Club
Join us on Monday evenings at
6:30 pm for STEAM Club! Activities include art, playdough, puzzles, building circuits, kinetic sand, tinkering and much more!
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Lego Club
Tuesdays
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Saturdays
10:30 am - 11:30 am
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CRAFTY WEDNESDAY
All Day
Join us anytime from 9 am to 5 pm
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In Person Storytime with Ms. Liz
Wednesdays & Fridays
at 10:30 am
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Tinkering Thursday
Join us on Thursday afternoons from
4:00 pm-5:00 pm
What is Tinkering?
"to take things apart, put things together, figure out how things work, and attempt to build and make creations using tools."
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The Board of Trustees has a vacancy!
The Library Trustees are responsible for the administration of special trust funds set up for the betterment of the library. In addition, the Trustees review library policy, and works with the Library Director to improve and promote the library in the community. The Trustees meet monthly, on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 12 pm.
The Trustees would like to recruit an active library patron for this opening. Please submit a letter of interest to Robin Weber, Chair or complete the application available at the library. Letters of interest can be left at the library, or emailed to [email protected]. In your letter of interest please include your contact information, experience as a library patron, why you are interested in serving, and your areas of interest (youth, adult services, outreach and access or technology). The Trustees will review all applications received through May 15th, 2022.
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Board of Trustees Meeting
The next meeting of the Board is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26 at 12 pm, in the Pioppi Room.
Details will be available on the Town of Southbridge website, under Public Meetings Calendar, for all public meetings.
There is a vacancy on the Board for a member. See message above.
All meetings are open to the public.
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Friends of the Jacob Edwards Library
The Friends are currently preparing for a book sale:
May 13 and 14.
Volunteers wanted to assist with the sorting of books and materials.
No book donations can be accepted at this time.
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We look forward to seeing you at the library!
508.764.5426
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